Angle coming to Washington to stragetize with top Republican advisers

Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle will be in Washington this week for meetings with top Republican strategists. 

Her
surprise win in last Tuesday’s Senate primary came despite having
little campaign infrastructure and few friends in the Capitol.

{mosads}The challenge for Angle now, observers say, is to maintain the
appeal of an authentic, outsider candidate while getting assistance
from the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the party’s
Washington leadership.

“That’s the purpose of her coming in; she’ll be having those
meetings next week,” said Larry Hart, a consultant to Angle’s campaign.

Angle
is challenging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — one of the
GOP’s top Senate targets — so there will be pressure on her to follow
the advice of the party’s Washington brain trust.

“There is a natural tendency to encourage candidates to hire
certain people,” Hart said. “That seems to be a Washington syndrome.”

Angle
has already hired the Indiana-based Prosper Group to help with online
fundraising, according to the Associated Press. The firm worked for
Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) during his January special election campaign.

NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) told ABC News last week that his
committee was “solidly behind” Angle, despite having favored former
state Sen. Sue Lowden (R) to win the primary.

Hart said Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul’s (R) experience shows that the GOP is willing to unify after a tough primary.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) backed Secretary of
State Trey Grayson to win Kentucky’s May primary, but he recently
agreed to host a Washington fundraiser for Paul.

“I’m sure that if he’s doing that for Rand Paul they’ll offer that for Sharron Angle,” Hart said.

Like Paul, Angle is relatively unknown in Washington and it’s not
yet clear she will be willing to accept the guidance of a party she
disagrees with on several issues.

But according to a GOP
source, Angle’s expressed a willingness to work with the NRSC. And
national party strategists have also communicated that this race
remains one of their top priorities and will offer any assistance they
can to her campaign.

If Angle and the NRSC can’t agree on strategy, the committee has other options it can exploit against Reid.

Sources
tell The Hill that the NRSC’s independent expenditure (IE) effort,
which is being run by veteran strategist Mike DuHaime, will be focused
on Nevada. The committee’s IE arm has already retained Public Opinion
Strategies pollster Glen Bolger to help hone its Silver State message.

Angle will also keep getting assistance from some of the groups
that propelled her to success in the primary. The Tea Party Express,
which spent close to $500,000 on TV ads during the race, will continue
to be engaged, according to Sal Russo, one of the founders of the
group.

“It’s safe to say we’ll be engaged in the general election in some way.”

He
said the group’s focus likely will be on promoting Angle as a viable
alternative to Reid. “Harry Reid’s negatives are so high and ingrained
that [running anti-Reid ads] would be kicking a dead horse.”

There’s no question, he added, that Angle needs help to defeat Reid. “She has to hire a first-rate team,” he said.

While Angle meets with strategists in Washington this week, she won’t spend much time talking to reporters.

“She will start to do some national media but she is not setting
herself up to be cross-examined by people who do not have the
opportunity to cross-examine Harry Reid about his record,” Hart said.
“That is what the campaign is going to be about. When you have a
long-term incumbent, it’s about him.”

— Shira Poliak contributed to this report